Fic for mlui187

[rarepairs_mod]

Author: scarletladyy
Recipient: mlui187
Title: Some Would Say It Was Stupid
Pairing: Lucius/Hermione
Rating: R
Word Count: 1624
Summary: It's been a few days since Hermione was rescued from Lucius' sadistic clutches, and the Daily Prophet wants to know all about her ordeal.
Author's Notes: Many thanks to my beta seatbeltdrivein



Hermione never thought she'd ever hate anyone. She believed everyone deserved a chance, even a second chance, but with this man, a million chances wouldn't be enough. The anger and upset coursing through her veins was solely because of him. The bruises and cuts on her body all came from him. The psychological trauma she suffered was his fault. She hated him.

"How are you feeling?" The blonde witch from the Daily Prophet asked.

Hermione scowled at the witch. "How do you think I feel?"

Months ago, Hermione would never have spoken to anyone like that. She wouldn't have dared to; it was rude and impolite, and her parents always taught her to be patient with people. Now, however, it was as though she had an entitlement to be short with anyone who had the audacity to ask stupid questions. The reported knew perfectly well what Hermione had been through, what she had suffered at the hands of Lucius Malfoy, and yet still insisted on asking the obvious.

"Sorry," the reporter mumbled. "I'm Portia, by the way." Hermione didn't respond. She didn't care what the woman's name was any more than she cared what day it was. Her life had been on hold for so very long that she wasn't sure she knew how to cope with being back in the real world again. "So, tell me. How did you get captured?"

Hermione closed her eyes tightly and thought back to the fateful day that changed her life forever. "I was upset. I'd had an argument with Harry and went for a walk. It was stupid really, as it was nighttime, but I wasn't thinking. There was a flash of light and everything went dark all of a sudden. The next thing I knew, I woke up in a cold, dark cell."

"You're awake, Mudblood." Lucius' voice was harsh. "Took you long enough."

Hermione stood up as fast as she could, given the circumstances. She grabbed her head, feeling dizzy, and blinked her eyes numerous times to get her vision back. "What am I doing here, Malfoy?"

Portia tutted, attempting to be sympathetic. It wasn't working. "That must have been awful."

"It was." Hermione snapped. "I was freezing, my clothes were dirty, and I desperately needed the toilet."

"Mmm." Portia's Quick Quotes Quill was working in overdrive. "So what did he want with you?"

Hermione remembered back to her time there. It was days before he actually told her what his agenda was. When she was first there, he was just mindlessly hurting her: daily whippings, insults, humiliation. At first, he was just trying to break her, but she didn't let him. She was tough; she always had been.

"Let's get down to business." Lucius sat on a stool in front of her. His exterior was cool and calm, but Hermione was struggling. He'd tied her up so she was dangling from the ceiling, and she wasn't wearing any clothes.

Hermione spat at him. "Is this the part where you tell me why I'm here, then?"

"Why, my son did tell me you were the cleverest witch in his class, but your intelligence is truly astonishing." Hermione ignored him, eyes narrowed. She knew if looks could kill, he'd be in serious danger right about now. "I want Potter."

"State the obvious, why don't you?" Hermione screamed and fought in her bonds as she felt the Cruciatus curse hit her. He was punishing her for staying strong, for arguing back, but she didn't care.

"I want to know where he is."

Hermione responded quicker than she had ever done in her life. "Never."

"I'll make you."

Hermione knew he had the power to do anything he wanted to her, but she wasn't prepared to give up her best friend. "Go ahead and try."

"I see you fought." Portia was looking at her as though she was insane. "Some would say that was stupid."

"Some would just lie down and take it. But not me."

"Care to tell us what he did to you when you refused to talk?"

"Want all the gory details, do you?" asked Hermione, closing her eyes once again to the worst torture scene she was put through.

"This, Mubdlood, is acid." Lucius help up a colourless glass of liquid, and though Hermione didn't show it, she was utterly terrified about what he was going to do. He walked around so he was standing behind her, where the whip had beaten into her skin. As usual, she was tied up, spread-eagled, but this time she was on his new A-Frame. "I thought I'd stop your wounds getting infected."

Lucius poured the acid into the cuts on her back; it hurt like nothing she'd ever felt before. She struggled, screamed, yelped, threw her head back and forth. The pain was immense, and she felt sick; her nerves were shaking on end.

"Aren't you going to thank me for being so kind?" Lucius was barely audible over her screams; she was in too much agony and too much pain to care about his insults and taunts. She just wanted it to stop.

"Acid? That must have been painful."

Hermione gritted her teeth. This woman was really getting on her nerves. "It was."

"Was that all he did to you?"

"Like that wasn't enough?" Hermione spat, almost in two minds to get up and leave right now. It had only been a few days since she'd been rescued, and yet she was already getting absurd questions from a reporter! It had been Harry's idea, so everyone would know just how sick Lucius Malfoy really was.

Lucius walked into the room. There were two men standing behind him, and one was carrying a small, black bag. "I want to make my mark on you, little one."

"Fuck you." Hermione was lying on the table, facing the ceiling. This time, the normal restraints had been exchanged for magic, so there was no possible way she could struggle or get away. She was just there, and that was it.

"She isn't very pleasant, is she boys?" Lucius joked around with the men, and she heard their cruel laughter as they set their things down. Hermione had a good idea of what Lucius had planned, but it pained her to think about it. "I think, for that rudeness, Granger, you won't get any painkillers."

Hermione wouldn't show it, but she hated herself for swearing at him now. It wouldn't have surprised her, though, if he wasn't planning to give her painkillers at all. He could have been just saying that to torment her, which was very likely considering who he was.

"You know what I want, and where I want it," Lucius said to the dark haired man who was getting a tattoo gun from his bag.

"So, where did he want it? And what was it?" Portia seemed so interested, as though it was a soap or something rather than the torture that Hermione had actually been through.

Hermione swallowed. She'd been dreading this question. "Down there," she whispered. "Under my..." she pointed her finger downwards, hoping that she wouldn't have to spell it out for the reporter.

"Ahh, I get you," Portia winked. "What was it?"

Hermione's voice went cold as she spoke. "His initials."

"Can I see?" Portia's voice was full of excitement, and it was making Hermione sick.

"No! You certainly can not."

"Fine." Portia's smile disappeared. "So tell me about your rescue then."

Hermione's rescue was one of the things she remembered clearly. A lot of her time spent in Lucius' care was a blur; minutes turned into hours, days into weeks. She didn't know how long she'd been there, or whether it was day or night. Her whole ordeal seemed like one very long event.

Hermione sat against the grey, stone wall facing the door. She heard faint noises outside, but it wasn't unusual. It seemed the manor always had people around. Her hands held tight to the wall, bound in chains left from Lucius' 'fun and games' last night; dried blood covered the floor surrounding her and her body.

The noises continued to get louder, and she could have sworn she recognized some of the voices, but her mind had played tricks on her for so long that she didn't know what to believe anymore. The loud voices carried straight to the door of her cell, and Hermione curled against the wall in terror, her eyes wide. He was coming back to hurt her; she knew it.

"Hermione? Hermione? Are you in there?"

She knew she recognized the voices on the other side of the door; they were Harry and Ron's, but she was so petrified it was a vicious trick she didn't say anything back. She knew Lucius would love it if she got all worked up over nothing.

"Did you hear anything, mate?" Ron called. "Hermione?"

There was always the chance that it was her two friends though, and she refused to let a chance at freedom go by not saying anything, no matter the consequences. Gently, she knocked on the door and whispered, "Harry? Ron? Is that you?"

"Hermione!" she heard one of them scream, trying to force the door open. "Don't worry, we'll be in soon."

"Was there a fight?" asked Portia. "Where was Malfoy?"

"When I left the room, there were three unconscious bodies on the floor, and there was blood dripping everywhere around them. I didn't ask what happened. I don't know."

"You're lucky. With the way you behaved, I'm surprised he let you live so long."

Hermione gritted her teeth. "He needed me." She felt a warm, comforting hand on her shoulder; it was Harry.

"Come on, love. I think you've said enough for now."

"But-- " Portia probably had many more questions, but Hermione wasn't in the mood. She was glad Harry was there to look out for her. She should have known he'd come for her eventually, but she had no clue what the outside world was like anymore. All she wanted to do now was get on with living her life, and hopefully, one day, become the person she'd always dreamt of being.

Harry shook his head and took Hermione's hand. "No buts. End of interview."